


Through Glass

by protect-him (protect_him)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Danarius being terrible as usual, Fenders Friday, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, MerFen, Minor Violence, fengst, merfenders, mermaid au, mermanders, or an incarnation of Justice that doesn't actually speak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-07 22:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protect_him/pseuds/protect-him
Summary: The theme for this Fenders Friday was water, so of course I wanted to write merfenders! And then it got angsty...Anders is a pretty tropical mer who comes across a captive deep sea mer and finds he can't look away.(Title is the title of a song by Stone Sour that actually also could work for this fic so if you'd like to listen:here is a version of it)





	Through Glass

Anders was bored. He flipped his glittering tail out of the shallow water where he was sunning  himself and watched the shower of sparkling droplets when it flopped back down.

Hunting had driven him farther north than his species usually swam, but he liked it. It was warm and sunny and made his tail sparkle brilliantly.

He flipped over suddenly, wriggling happily at the feeling of the warm sun on his back. Mers weren't usually loners, but Anders swam alone. After losing Karl to some especially violent hunters, he didn't want to get attached to anyone. He just had his little shark friend, Justice, who kept him company. Angel sharks weren’t big, but they were friendly and this one in particular had taken a looking to Anders.

“I want to swim along the coast!” Anders decided. He liked exploring and had gotten out of enough tight situations now that he wasn't afraid anymore.

He was fast and skinny and would tease the hunting and slaving ships by darting up alongside them and flashing his tail before disappearing again. He leapt from the shallow rock where he'd been sunning into deeper waters. Justice floated alongside him for a while, then went off when he saw a slaving ship. Anders ignored it for now. Justice always wanted him to come help rip the nets, but then Anders would have to talk to the mers, who would then insist that he needed to join a pod.

“Don't swim alone! Safety in numbers!” Anders muttered to himself in a mocking voice. “They always say the same things. Ooh!”

He stopped short when he came across a huge pane of glass set into the sheer coastline rock. Anders peeked above water.  There was a really high wall above the glass, and what looked like a big fancy human house. He liked looking in on human things. Anders swam up closer to the glass. The glass separated the ocean from more water. There was a pool on the other side, clearly human sized, but there was something dark in it. Anders pressed up against the glass, then skittered away when the dark shape moved. It was a  _ mer _ ! He returned to the glass, watching in curiosity. The mer uncoiled himself, swimming lazily to the other side of the pool, right past Anders without so much as glancing towards the glass. 

Anders had heard of mers in captivity, but had never seen one. This was a small one and a deep sea mer from the look of it. He had luminescent markings covering his fin and upper body. His tail was flat and supple, rippling almost bonelessly. The tail was a deep blue, with the luminescent accents running down either side like veins. The transparent fin ran down his spine, around the tip of the tail, and back up towards his stomach, where the blue gave away to dark skin, though the color was a little ashen. He was thin, almost too thin, and graceful as he swam, long white hair drifting behind him.

“Wow, he's beautiful!” Anders marveled at how clear and clean the pool water was. It looked warm. But wait...a deep sea mer wouldn't like the sun… Anders looked around, but the pool was shallow and square, almost harsh. There was no shady place for the mer to hide, not even a single sea plant. The walls of the pool were smooth tiles. The mer suddenly launched himself up out of the pool. Anders strained to see what he was doing, but the tail disappeared as the mer seemed to flop away from the water.

“Where is he going?” Anders surfaced, looking through the glass above the water now. The mer looked miserable, crawling awkwardly across the flat surface into a small building. He was only there a few seconds and then he was crawling back out, a trickle of wetness running down his tail.

“He has to get out of the water to urinate?” Anders waved, trying to get the mer’s attention, but the other mer was more focused on gasping for breath, finally flopping clumsily into the water. He sank to the bottom for a moment, chest heaving as he tried to recover.

The mer curled himself back up in the nearest corner again.

“This is inhumane!” Anders exclaimed, pressing up against the glass. “I have to help him.”

He tried breaking the glass, slapping his tail against it until he was bruised. It did nothing except finally get the other mer’s attention.

Anders waved. The mer had his arms wrapped around his tail and stared at Anders with huge green eyes.

“Hey, how do you get out?” Anders called.

The mer shrank back, clearly frightened.

Anders looked around. He couldn't see much else beyond the window and the wall. There was always a way. He swam off to investigate. A house like this was bound to have some kind of plumbing using the ocean water.

Anders found a few openings large enough for him to fit in, but didn't dare explore them until after dark.

Marking where this house was, he swam off to find Justice, explaining to the shark that there was a mer trapped by humans.

“We have to help him!” Anders swam in nervous circles until Justice nuzzled him, calming him.

Anders couldn't wait until evening to return. He swam up to the window and saw that the mer was no longer alone. A human was in the pool with him. The mer was almost nothing like he'd been before. Now he looked almost playful, happy even, swimming up to the human and then around him as the human touched his tail and hair.

The human momentarily lost his footing as the mer swam by him. The mer quickly turned to ensure that the human was alright, bobbing his head out of the water. Anders flinched, crying out as the human slapped the mer on the side of the head. Anders would have hit back and bit the human, but the mer simply took it, curling up at the human's feet. The human kicked him away and the mer quickly swam off and then returned to nuzzle the human's legs. The human seemed to forgive him.

“Good boy,” the man said, praising and petting him like an animal. “I'm having a party tonight and the pool needs to be cleaned.”

The mer squirmed, shuddering.

“I know you'll be a good boy,” the man said. “Now go relieve yourself. You know I hate it when you animals are shitting everywhere. It's disgusting.”

The mer obediently struggled to get out of the pool, crawling awkwardly towards the toilet again. He was on his way back when the human, who had gotten out of the pool, stopped him.

“Wait until your lungs change, like I told you,” he said. The mer seemed to try to flatten himself against the pavement, whining as his tail thrashed.

Anders switched often between his sea and land lungs—it was helpful for escaping and he liked exploring anyway. It was much easier to observe if he didn’t have to keep dipping underwater. This mer he could tell did not do it often. He writhed piteously, gasping until he finally heaved, vomiting water onto the ground by the human’s feet, and began to breathe again. Even then, his breathing was labored and shallow, his mouth hanging open as he tried to gulp air into his small unused land lungs.

“You nearly threw up on my feet!” The human said, stepping away. “Get back in the pool.” He kicked at the mer’s tail as the mer scrabbled as fast as he could, his tail flopping uselessly behind him. Once he was underwater, he had to change his lungs again and Anders watched as he clawed at the bottom of the pool, trying to gulp in water as his body resisted. Anders knew how it felt. He pressed both hands against the glass.

The human had disappeared now and the mer once again sank to the bottom of the pool, curling up on himself. The playfulness had just been an act, Anders realized, and it hadn’t done him any good in the end.

Anders swam around for several minutes, trying to get the mer’s attention, but the mer seemed to be dozing, or had his eyes closed against the afternoon sunlight. Anders was just as startled as the mer when a heavy thick rope was slapped into the water. The mer seemed to know what the rope meant, because he uncoiled and swam towards the other end of the pool, eyes wide with fear.

“Fenris!” The human’s voice was harsh and angry. The mer curled up at the bottom of the pool, shivering.

“Swim through!” The man called. The mer, seemingly resigned, swam towards the loop of rope, flinching as he went through. Was this some kind of game, Anders wondered, but saw a moment later that it wasn’t. The rope suddenly tightened around the mer’s tail, cinching closed and pulling upwards. There was a crane-like structure on one side of the pool to which it was attached. Anders peeked above water and saw the mer dangling by his tail, making little chirping noises of distress as he swung back and forth. He wrapped his arms around his torso and continued to cry out.

“Oh, shut up, sea dog,” the human shouted, directing more humans towards the pool. They opened a small box on one side of the pool and flipped a switch. Anders perked up, hearing water flowing. It was coming out into the ocean. He swam around quickly and found the drain where water was shooting out. He could smell the other mer’s scent in the water, and it smelled...Anders wriggled away, gagging. It smelled sick. Something was wrong with that mer.

Anders returned to the glass, careful now not to expose too much of himself in case he was spotted. The mer’s lungs had changed and he was gasping and spasming, one hand fisted in his mouth as he bit down on it to keep from crying out. The human had called him ‘Fenris.’ Anders guessed that was the mer’s name.

The mer whined loudly, now back to hugging himself.

“You’re dry aren’t you?” The human asked, walking over to grab the mer’s arm and twist him around. He let go and the mer twisted back, spinning too far the opposite direction. The mer reached out for the man, choking out a higher-pitched sound that betrayed his terror.

The human just turned to him angrily.

“Enough noise! Hadriana, muzzle him.”

A female human now came forward with a box, from which she pulled out a small dark object. Anders craned his neck trying to see better—the mer was off to the side and it was difficult to see him, especially when the woman stepped in front of him. He heard a whine and then silence. When the woman stepped back, the mer had the dark object covering his mouth. His eyes were wide. He squirmed unhappily.

“You really should behave better,” the man said before turning away to talk to one of the men by the pool. It was now about drained and Anders didn’t dare let himself be seen. He pressed against the rock face beside the window, stretching his jaw and looking up at the sun dancing on the top of the water. That other mer deserved to know the same freedom that Anders did.

Things were much quieter now on the other side of the glass. Anders ventured a peek.

The pool was filling again with fresh water. The mer was still hanging by his tail. Anders swished his own tail. That would  _ hurt _ . After another minute or so, the man had the mer let down onto the concrete, where the mer curled up fearfully.

“If I’m going to have you in the pool tonight, you need to be clean,” the man said, and then pointed to a large open area between the pool and the building. The mer crawled obediently into the space, then hid his face against the ground.

Anders squealed when a moment later a high powered hose was turned onto the mer’s back. That looked painful too! Anders slapped his tail against the rocks. If the human was throwing a party, then it would be impossible to help Fenris until after it was over. How could he wait that long?

Once the mer was sufficiently clean, he was unceremoniously shoved back into the pool, even though it wasn’t quite full yet. He floundered for a moment and then surfaced, leaning against the edge of the pool.

“You want me to take it off?” The man asked, coming to stand over the mer, his hands on his hips. The mer wriggled, resting his chin on the edge of the pool. “Such an animal,” the man said, rather affectionately. He bent down and released the clasp at the back of the mer’s head, pulling away the device. He paused with his hand lowered until the mer nudged his hand with his nose, something Anders took to be gratitude perhaps. Then the mer pulled away, dropping back underwater and gasping until his lungs changed. With the human still present, the mer didn't curl up in a corner again. Instead, he swam back and forth in the pool, occasionally surfacing to let his back and back fin slide out of the water. He was very showy, but Anders decided it was because the human desired him to be.

It wasn't long before more humans started arriving. The mer was an obvious attraction. Soon humans were crowded around the pool. The man returned with a plate, telling them it was time for Fenris to eat.

They oohed and aahed as the mer pulled himself up so that most of his body was out of the water. He lowered his head, resting his chin on his arms as he swished his tail, then lifted it and splashed the water just hard enough to create a tiny spray. The guests shouted with delight and the man put down the plate so the mer could eat. Now that it was after sunset, Anders could more easily look in. He was confused by what the mer was eating, and  _ how _ . He was trying to eat like a human, though somewhat clumsily. Anders knew that deep sea mers preferred to eat vegetation and plants, but this mer was eating what looked like pure  _ meat _ .

The mer finished eating and wriggled his way back into the water, gulping in deep breaths as his lungs changed. He’d managed to change to his land lungs more cleanly than earlier, but it was still uncomfortable to watch. Now he quickly turned back around and began to swim in fast, playful loops around the pool. As he zipped by the glass, Anders saw that although his teeth showed in a happy grin, his eyes were fearful. The guests went away to eat, leaving the mer alone for a brief period of time. Anders tapped on the glass, hoping to get the mer’s attention, but either the mer didn’t hear or he was ignoring the sound. He eventually got tired of swimming in tiny circles and went to float at one end of the pool. Not curled up in the dark corner, but up near the surface.

Guests started returning to the pool as music started to play. Now they held drinks and bright lights came on. And now the guests started a new game. They began taking small samples of food from several trays set up beside the pool and holding them out while giving the mer commands. To Anders’ shock, the mer obeyed, performing flips and diving as he was ordered. He'd do what he was told, then he'd swim up to the guest and eat the food from their hand.

“He's so human looking!” One of the women squealed.

“Can we kiss him?” Another woman asked.

“If he understands what you're asking,” the man said, winking. He stood at one end of the pool, gloating over his captive mer while his guests all began trying even harder to get him to do tricks for them. The woman waved the limp piece of fish trying to get Fenris’s attention. Anders could tell the mer was getting overwhelmed and frightened and his own tail fin thumped anxiously as he pressed his nose to the glass. The commands were getting more complicated and there were more of them at once.

“Beach!” Fenris knew that one. Anders saw him thrust himself up out of the pool, squirming until his tail was out of the water as well. The woman pounced on him and Fenris produced a frightened cry before he was silenced by the woman's lips on his. His tail twitched and his arms tensed. Then someone else yelled: “Dive!”

The mer reacted immediately, not seeing the man who had stepped between himself and the water, and seemingly eager to get away from the woman on top of him. He twisted and used his tail to propel him towards the pool, but unfortunately his momentum pushed the man into the water with him, as well as dragging the woman over the edge. Both humans shrieked and began splashing as the mer froze in horror. Anders glanced at the man and saw why the mer would be so afraid. The man was furious, even though it had not been Fenris’s fault.

The guests helped their companions out of the pool, all silent now as the mer cowered down against the floor of the pool.

“Out!” The man gestured to the mer, who swam up to the edge and pulled himself out of the pool. He crawled off towards the open area and settled in an unhappy heap. The man gestured to the woman from earlier and flipped the mer over.

The woman brought another box and this time the man pulled out several strands of delicate gold chains. He knelt and attached the chains to piercings on the mer’s chest. The mer’s tail twitched, but otherwise he remained still, holding his breath. As the man stepped back, the mer seemed to know what was required of him. He pushed himself up and curled his tail fin into a graceful arc as he tossed his long hair over his shoulder. Between the dim lights, his own luminescence, and the pale of his hair, he looked ethereal.

Anders couldn't see as well now, but he pressed against the glass as his tail worked to keep him above water. The guests were relaxing again, spreading out and mingling, many standing around to admire the mer. He knew he was being displayed, preening his hair and glancing up at the guests who walked by.

The man was standing near him, approaching the guests who admired the mer. A couple of them placed money into the man's hands and the man wrote something in a notepad.

The party dragged on. The mer was alternating between sitting and lying down, looking exhausted. Now the guests had dwindled to only the few who had paid the man. The mer’s jewelry was removed and he was nudged towards a smaller pool. Anders could just barely tell it was there. The mer flopped in as the first man undressed and got in after the mer.

Anders couldn't see what was happening, but the people each took a turn in the pool and then left right after. They seemed to really enjoy it. Anders heard them shouting and occasionally heard the mer whine, the distinctive sound very soft from so far away, but Anders heard it.

“What is happening?” He muttered, frustrated that he couldn't see. All of the guests had left and it was just the man left standing over the small pool where the mer was.

“Come on out,” the man said sternly. The mer slowly crawled out of the pool, his tail dragging pathetically and his swollen cock clearly visible protruding from its sheath just below his belly. He was short of breath, especially after changing to his land lungs, and flushed, deep red blooming on his torso and face, as well as the tips of his delicate ears. He collapsed onto the ground, panting.

“Good boy,” the man said. “We made a lot of money tonight. Do you want your reward?”

The mer half-heartedly perked up, and glanced hopefully towards the pool.

“It's even better than that,” the man said and then nudged the mer’s cock with the toe of his shoe. “You're all ready for me too.” The mer whined, an attempt to sound pleased, but to Anders he just sounded miserable.

“Justice! We have to help him now!” Anders swam anxiously back and forth as the man summoned two of his servants to pick up the mer by his arms, carrying him indoors after the man. The doors closed behind them and Anders stared, dumbfounded.

“He can't!” Anders exclaimed. “The mer will dry out!”

Justice nuzzled Anders until he calmed down enough to focus. Justice nudged him away from the window and Anders realized what the shark wanted him to do.

“Pounce!” He took off towards the inlet where he often went to see the cat. Justice sped after him. Anders swam deep and snatched a fish before returning to the surface. He clambered up onto the rocks, sucking in air and coughing as he changed to his land lungs. He then started to chirrup, a distinctive half-purr that Pounce recognized.

Before long, the orange tabby came running, responding with his own mewing. He walked around Anders, sniffing him before accepting the fish. Anders lay down on the cool rocks and watched the cat. He started petting him once he’d had finished eating.

The cat, despite what might have been expected, loved Anders. Pounce rolled onto his side as Anders petted him and scratched his ears.

“What am I going to do?” Anders moaned. “I have to help that mer, but how can I get to him if he’s not even in the pool? That man doesn’t seem to leave him alone!” He flicked his tail angrily. “He’s letting him dry out too! No wonder his scent smelled sick!”

Pounce meowed as if agreeing, and Anders sniffed. He heard a splash behind him. The ever-active Justice was trying to get his attention.

“What happened?”

The shark stared at him for a moment, then dove back underwater.

“He said that he saw the mer again! Sorry, Pounce, I have to go!”

Anders quickly wriggled back into the water, giving the forlorn cat a last scratch under his chin. Then he was rushing back towards the house with the pool and the deep sea mer.

When he got back, he saw that the mer wasn’t actually  _ in _ the pool again, but near it. And the man was with him. The mer looked worse than before, though he did look happier. 

The man was holding him and they were reclined in an outdoor sofa near the pool. The mer’s skin looked painfully dry, but the man wasn’t paying any attention to that. He petted Fenris’s hair and squeezed lotion onto his hands to rub down the mer’s penis. The mer’s tail twitched weakly as the man worked. Anders thought he could see blood, a dark trickle coming down from the slit in the mer’s scales. The man rubbed lotion on the mer’s skin as well, but it didn’t seem to be helping the dryness that Anders could see even from behind the glass. The mer snuggled up to the man, nuzzling at his neck. The man didn’t like this, though, and frowned, pushing the mer away.

“None of that. I’ve told you so many times,” he growled.

The mer lowered his head, twisting so that he was lying on his side across the man’s lap. The man sighed.

“You’re entirely too needy,” he said, standing up abruptly and pushing the mer so that he fell onto the ground with a squawk. “Back in the pool,” he commanded, pointing to the water. “I’m getting you fitted with a collar tomorrow, so enjoy your last night being able to move around and make a mess. I can’t believe I came out this morning and saw that you  _ pissed _ in my clean pool. I had to clean it  _ twice _ today.” He gave the mer a swift kick for good measure, making him hobble even faster towards the water until he dropped in with a clumsy splash. The man huffed and strode away, finally disappearing.

“I think he’s gone,” Anders said. The mer had changed his lungs and was lying at the bottom of the pool, completely still. Anders turned to Justice.

“I’m going to climb up there and turn on the switch to drain the pool. The opening should be big enough for the mer to go through. If he has trouble, I’ll jump in and help him. You keep an eye on him when he comes out the other end, ok?” 

The shark confirmed that this would be acceptable and Anders swam towards a place where he’d seen an opening in the wall. It was the man’s upstairs balcony that looked over the ocean. Anders barely made the climb up to the ledge, and then began making his way down towards the lower deck where the walled-in pool was. It looked so different from this side. He could see the shape of the mer in the water, distorted but still glowing faintly.  Anders’ tail thumped rhythmically as he crawled towards the pool. The mer didn’t move as Anders approached the box that held the drainage switch. It was difficult to open without being able to stand, but by throwing his weight against the handle, he managed to get it open. He hoped that the largest switch would drain the pool.

He flipped it, and the panel on the bottom of the pool slid open. He was happy to note that it looked plenty large enough for the mer to go down. The mer startled as water began flowing towards the opening. He tried to get away, but the water was being pulled too fast and sucked him with it. He cried in dismay as he was pulled through the opening. Satisfied that he’d come out the other side, Anders began heading back towards the upper balcony. The trek up the stairs was even slower than before, but he finally made it up and launched himself off the ledge, diving gracefully into the water below.

Immediately, he heard desperate cries from both Justice and the other mer. Righting himself, Anders hurried towards the opening. He panicked when he saw that he had forgotten to remove the metal grate covering the opening. The mer was stuck behind it, held in place by the water rushing past him. He was making the same frightened chirps he’d been making earlier in the day when held upside down by his tail fin. Anders grabbed the metal grating and pulled, wriggling and jerking and using his tail to push against the wall until the metal finally came off, launching Anders back away from the wall.

The mer was still stuck in the opening though. Anders dropped the grate and hurried back to him. The mer tried to shrink away, making frightened sounds, but his long white hair was caught in some of the rough rocks and barnacles around the opening. He writhed and cried. Anders didn’t know what to do. He was afraid to come closer. Justice nudged his side.

Anders looked over and saw that the angel shark had brought him a piece of broken glass from somewhere down on the bottom.

“Thanks, Justice,” he said, and carefully approached the crying mer.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I am going to help you get un-stuck.”

The mer continued to squirm and pull on his hair until Anders got right up next to the opening. Then he froze and curled in on himself, shivering.

Anders quickly used the glass to cut away the hair that was tangled in the rocks and then gently coaxed the mer to come out. When the mer realized that he was no longer trapped and that this other creature had helped him, he carefully swam out, jumping as he realized that he was in open water. He almost turned around to swim back into the tunnel when Anders reached to grab him, wrapping his arms and tail around the other mer.

Fenris stiffened for a minute before realizing that the other creature wasn’t going to hurt him. The other creature wasn’t a monster fish, but he was a  _ mer _ . He was Fenris’s kind. And he was nuzzling and  _ purring. _ Fenris didn’t even know he  _ could _ purr.

Cautiously, Fenris nuzzled the other mer in return, flinching when the mer moved, but it was just to make it more comfortable for Fenris to nuzzle his neck, and to gently rub his hands down Fenris’s back.

Anders felt the mer relax as he continued to hold him.

“There, that's better,” he said. “You're okay.” The mer jumped when Anders spoke.

“Your name is Fenris, right?” Anders pulled back so he could look at the mer’s face. He was even more beautiful up close, but he looked scared again.

“Name,” he said, somewhat clumsily. “Fenners.”

Anders grinned.

“My name is Anders.”

“Anners.”

Anders smiled. “You're in no state to be out here alone. Come with me?”

Fenris mouthed the words to himself before speaking, tilting his head. “Come me?”

Anders took his hand. “Come?”

Fenris blinked and nodded.

Anders swam towards a small cave where he sometimes hid to rest.

“We'll be safe here.” Anders gestured to the cozy space.

Fenris swam cautiously around the perimeter of the cave, returning to Anders.

“Safe,” he said. “Anners.” He swam up to Anders and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling at his neck.

“Yep, we can sleep here.” Fenris didn’t seem likely to stop hugging him anytime soon, so he pried the mer far enough away that he could point to his nest. “There,” he said, “that’s where I usually sleep.”

“Anners sleep?”

“Are you tired?” Anders asked.

“Fenners sleep,” Fenris said.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Anders said. “Come on, let’s go over there.”

Fenris held onto Anders’ hand as Anders led him towards his mer-nest. Mers didn’t share their nests  _ ever _ , unless with a mate, but Anders had no second thoughts about inviting Fenris to sleep in his. Fenris knew nothing about the customs of his own kind. He could hardly articulate words, he was so unused to his native language.

As soon as Anders was settled on his nest, Fenris was cuddling up to him and nuzzling at his neck.

“You’re an affectionate little guy aren’t you?” Anders said softly, wriggling to allow more room for the smaller mer to curl up by him. “How long were you in that pool?”

Fenris stopped nuzzling for a moment to look up at Anders curiously.

“You didn’t understand that, did you?” Anders huffed, wrapping his tail lazily around Fenris and hugging him close. “What do you even call that place?” He knew the word for  _ man _ in the human’s language, and spoke it.

Fenris looked at him, eyes wide.

“How long? With  _ man _ ?” Anders asked.

“Little fish,” Fenris said, then sat up to show with his arms about how big he was.

“You’ve been there  _ that long _ ?” Anders scooped the mer up into a hug, his tail sliding soothingly up and down the mer’s tail fin as he nuzzled his neck.

Fenris seemed to understand. He made a little whine in the back of his throat and nuzzled Anders as well. Suddenly everything felt right. Anders couldn’t imagine anyone but Fenris sharing his nest with him. Time would tell if Fenris felt the same, but his happiness at finding another of his kind who knew how to respond to his affection and to treat him the same way was at the same time both sad and sweet.

Anders gently pulled the other mer so that his head was resting on his chest. He caressed Fenris’s tail with his own and ran his fingers through Fenris’s hair. He felt a nudge against his arm and looked to see that Justice was settling in next to him as well.

“Fenris is going to be a part of our family,” he told the shark. In response, Justice also nudged Fenris’s arm affectionately. Fenris blinked at the shark in surprise.

“He’s my friend,” Anders explained. Fenris extended one arm to pet the shark, who happily wriggled into the touch. Then Fenris lay down again and Anders closed his eyes, his chest vibrating as he drifted towards sleep. The last thing he noticed before falling asleep was a weak purr coming from the mer on top of him. He doubted Fenris had ever been calm and happy enough to purr before. He squeezed Fenris a little tighter, and the two fell asleep to the soothing vibrations of each other’s purr.


End file.
